“Oh, my dear girls, why, you have done nothing here—nothing at all!”
Sylvia said, “We are going to almost immediately, Mrs. Haddo.”
And Hetty said, “I quite love gardening. I was only waiting until Betty gave the word.”
“So you two little girls obey Betty in all things?” said Mrs. Haddo, glancing at the elder girl’s face.
“We only do it because we love to,” was the response.
“Well, my dears, I am surprised! Why, there isn’t a sight of your Scotch heather! Has it died? What has happened to it?”
“We made a burnt-offering of it,” said Betty suddenly.
“You did what?” said Mrs. Haddo in some astonishment.
“You see,” said Betty, “it was this way.” She now looked full up at her mistress. “The Scotch heather could not live in exile. So we burnt it, and set all the fairies free. They are in Aberdeenshire now, and quite happy.”